1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a tomography apparatus of the type having a support device (that can be moved in a displacement direction) for supporting a subject and with two acquisition systems disposed in succession in the displacement direction of the support device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A dual modality tomography apparatus with a support device for a patient and with two acquisition systems (namely a computer tomography (CT) acquisition system and a positron emission tomography (PET) acquisition system) disposed one after the other in the displacement direction is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,476. The support device has a support plate that can be moved relative to the base so that the patient can be shifted between the two acquisition systems. The image data acquired with the respective acquisition systems contain various types of image information and are geometrically fused with one another for a later diagnosis. A simple geometric fusion of the images is, however, only possible when the examination region containing diagnostically relevant information has been acquired by both acquisition systems under the same acquisition conditions, in particular with the same geometric alignment of the subject relative to the acquisition system.
So that the subject is not displaced from the position perpendicular to the acquisition systems upon shifting of the support plate between the acquisition systems, in such a tomography apparatus a support plate is used that exhibits a high rigidity. Achieving such a stiffness of the support plate is possible only with a high cost.